Blood and Burns
by zElliexmagic
Summary: She hated seeing him bleed and he hated seeing her burn...NaLu Two-shot.
1. Blood

**Something that I've noticed (especially in the series, Phantom Lord) is that Lucy always gets really upset when she's witnessing Natsu being brutally beaten and covered in blood. So my head got a light bulb over it and here I am with this story!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

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Blood

At first, Lucy thought she could easily hold it in. She thought that after Natsu recovered, she'd get over it and go back to normal. Every time she watched him fight with all of his strength against an enemy who wanted to kill him and he was losing, she'd shake in fear and cry. His red blood mixed with his pink hair and tan skin was never a good combination and Lucy _never_ wanted to see it. That's the way it's been for as long as she's known Natsu: she's cried, get over it after he recovered, then go back to normal. That's how it was.

The first time she watched him get beaten like that was during the Phantom Lord incident when Gajeel and he were fighting. Of course, Natsu beat him, but she couldn't help but get the shivers when she gets flashbacks of that time. When Lucy really thought about it, Natsu would've died if it wasn't for her. If she didn't summon Sagittarius, Natsu wouldn't have eaten fire and Gajeel would've killed him.

Lucy shook her head and sighed, staring at the view in front of her. She hiked up one of the mountains around Magnolia and took a seat against a tree to stare at the view. She comes up here only to clear her head and think. She would do some thinking in her apartment, but Natsu and Happy break in all the time and create a ton of noise.

Right, the reason she was up here in the first place was because of Natsu…

It wasn't his fault though. It was more of her own…but she would do it all over again. The terrible wounds wrapped in bandages around her body were worth it.

Lucy knew it wasn't a simple mission to begin with, but she didn't think it was going to be _that_ tough. "Bring down a mercenary group of bandits in Acalypha". The reward was 500,000J. The client had warned Team Natsu that this group of bandits was strong, but being confident as they were, they brushed it aside. They couldn't be _that_ bad…but the client didn't say anything about them being wizards.

Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Gray, Wendy, Carla, and Happy were split apart in a matter of minutes to deal with goons. Lucy was the unlucky duck and got stuck with the bandits' boss who happened to be an expert at lightning magic. Lucy would rank him S-class if he was in a guild. He was tough.

The good (but creepy and perverted) news was that Lucy wasn't hurt that bad by him: maybe a few scrapes. The boss took a liking for Lucy's body and wanted to "play" with her before he killed her. He hit her a few times for the fun of it and somehow stole her keys before he decided to strip her from her clothes, but he didn't even touch her before Natsu jumped in.

Lucy was happy to see him, but the lightning mage was a lot stronger than what Lucy anticipated. Natsu was covered in blood within a few minutes as Lucy watched from the sidelines. She cried, covered her ears to block out Natsu's screams, begged to leave him alone and take her. She would squeeze her eyes shut as well, but eventually open them again.

After a while, Natsu couldn't see straight and could barely stand. Lucy was on her knees hugging the crying Happy close to her as she bawled herself.

Suddenly, it looked like the lightning mage began to mutter a spell while taking a strange position. Lucy had immediately felt the immense magic power radiating off of him as he aimed for Natsu.

She knew it…he was going to kill him…she knew it…

Yes, Natsu has survived many things that seem impossible, but whenever those situations popped up, Natsu was never this tired and bloody. That blast would kill him. He always had enough magic energy to block or keep his heart pumping, but in this state? Nope.

After losing her mom, dad, and Aquarius, losing Natsu would kill her, especially when she knew how strong her feelings for him were.

She's been able to hold back her feeling of seeing his blood before, but the more her love for him grew, the harder it was. Usually she'd have faith that he'd survive, but she didn't dwell on that thought. Lucy knew that she had a better chance of surviving that shot since she wasn't as beat up as he was, but even if that wasn't the case, she had already made up her mind. Lucy quickly shoved Happy off her and was running toward them before anybody knew it. She felt the painfully blast hit her and heard her name screamed by her two best friends before she blacked out.

Of course, Lucy had been fine. She woke up in the guild infirmary later the next day. She had plenty of painful, severe wounds thanks to that shot, but she was able to get out of bed that same day anyway thanks to Porlyusica and Wendy.

She didn't miss the fact that Natsu wasn't there when she woke up; everybody was next to her except for him. She knew he was upset with what she did, but she didn't regret it. She _did_ survive after all, but it would still be worth it if she didn't.

Lucy was on her way home to rest when she noticed the front door open. When she peeked in, Natsu was there, looking at some of her pictures of the guild on the wall. More specifically, he was looking at one with his arm swung around her shoulders like he sometimes does out of habit. They were both grinning like idiots. Lucy couldn't remember the occasion when that was taken, but when she first saw that picture, she didn't care. She loved it.

Lucy turned her attention back to Natsu. She didn't want to face him and talk to him about it right now. She didn't want to _ever_ talk about it. She knew she had to, but she didn't want to talk now.

That's why she's up on the mountain, looking over Magnolia with her wounded back against the tree (yes, it hurt her, but she didn't care) and her sighs continuous.

She knew Natsu was upset with her, but she'd do it all over again anyway.

"I don't think you should be leaning against that tree with those wounds."

Lucy's eyes widened and a shiver ran up her wounded back, not because he scared her, but because she knew who it was. She's only been up here for about ten minutes and he found her? He must've caught her scent and followed her.

"I don't really care," she replied without turning around to face him.

Natsu sat down next to her and put his arm around her waist, pulling her away from the tree. "I do."

Lucy gave in and leaned against him, noticing that he was much more comfortable than the tree was. There was a dreadful silence between the two and Lucy was beginning to get mentally uncomfortable with it. After a while, Natsu finally opened his mouth:

"Why?"

She remained silent as she listened to the word leave his mouth. She knew what he meant, but she didn't know how to answer.

Natsu asked again, "Why?"

Lucy sucked in a breath and softly replied, "Why do you think? Because I didn't want you to-"

"I would've been fine!" he snapped, causing her to flinch. She knew he was upset, but she didn't think he would be mad. "I was going to eat the lightning-"

"You would've gotten sick if you did that," Lucy pulled away and turned to look at him. "You know that."

"I can too eat it! I have Lightning Flame Dragon Mode."

"That doesn't mean you can eat lightning."

Natsu looked away and didn't reply back for a moment. Lucy smiled, " _He can't even admit a loss to an argument? He's such an idiot…but sometimes, he's cute when he acts like that…_ "

"You could've died, Lucy," He said without looking at her. "You're lucky you survived that."

"Actually, _you're_ lucky I got to you in time. Did you look at me before I jumped in front of you? I only had a few scrapes. You, however, were covered in blood." Lucy flinched as she spoke the last sentence.

"Do you remember, during the Grand Magic Games," he still didn't turn to her, "when I was preparing to fight Sting and Rogue, you said you believed in me? Do you remember that?"

"But you-"

"Do you remember that?"

"…Yes."

"Did you lose faith in me? Why did you jump in front of me?"

" _I do not want to tell him the truth. It'll just lead to an awkward silence and a weird argument, but I would never lie to him either._ " Lucy sighed. "I didn't lose faith in you; I just didn't want you to die," She repeated.

"Lucy," Natsu finally turned to her with a serious look in his eyes. "There were many scenarios when I could've died and yet, you didn't jump in front of me then."

Their eyes were locked in a serious, silent argument. Lucy refused to back down and it seemed like Natsu did too. She was so focused on it that she almost didn't hear him speak.

"Tell me the truth. I know you would never lie to me so please don't prove me wrong."

Lucy didn't reply for a while as she searched for a way around this without lying. She couldn't think hard enough to find a way though...those onyx eyes were gorgeous and distracting. So she continued to stare into them and said, "I…hate seeing your blood. Whenever I see you fighting for your life, covered in blood, I can barely stand it."

Lucy didn't realize the words left her mouth until Natsu raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why? I always end up okay in the end."

Lucy bit her lip. "I don't know…well, I _do_ know…but…"

"…but what?"

How in the world did Lucy did get herself backed into a corner? She decided to blame his eyes. She didn't want to confess when she wasn't confident about telling him her feelings and when she didn't even know if he even remotely felt the same way toward her. Lucy bit her lip to stop her frustrated tears. "I just don't like seeing your blood, okay?!" She shot onto her feet and turned around to walk away, finally giving in to the stare battle.

"Lucy!"

She tried to stay calm as she heard him running up to her, but she continued to blink back the tears of frustration and walked down the path toward home.

"Lucy," She felt him grab the edge of her sleeve. "Why do you hate seeing my blood so much?"

Because she wasn't looking at him, it was a little easier to explain, but she knew he was still there. She bit her lip some more and refused to turn around to meet his eyes. "Ever since Phantom Lord," She chose her words carefully, "it really hurts me whenever I see your blood…and during that mission, I just couldn't take it. My feelings grew too strong to witness that anymore...I had to do something."

"What do mean by your feelings? When you see my blood?"

"Well…kinda."

"I don't get it. Nobody else freaks out when they see my blood so-"

"That's because nobody else feels the same way I do!" She trembled and kept her eyes on her feet. "You're right. You don't get it."

"Then explain it to me."

Lucy sighed in defeat, "Look…my mom died when I was young, my dad died later, and then I lost one of my closest friend, Aquarius…I couldn't stand losing someone else I love too!"

When Natsu didn't reply, she continued, "I don't know if I felt like this during Phantom Lord or not, but the reason I hate seeing your blood…the reason why I jumped in front of you…is because…I…" Lucy sucked in a breath. "I love you!"

The silence was dreadful and Lucy was afraid to turn around to see his face expression.

"…L-Lucy…"

When she finally _did_ turn around, minutes-that-felt-like-hours later, his face was a mixture of shock and dumbfound. Lucy didn't blame him. If their roles were reversed, she'd be shocked too.

"I love you, Natsu."

Natsu was suddenly dissatisfied with his position as he shifted back and forth on his legs. He averted his gaze from hers. "Luce…I-I'm sorry…I like you…b-but not-"

"I know you don't…it's okay," She flashed him a sad smile to cheer him up. She knew he didn't want to hurt her, but neither of them could do anything if he doesn't feel the same way…and forcing him into anything was the last thing Lucy wanted. "Well, now you know…so I'm gonna head home to rest...see ya."

He didn't say anything or stop her when she started walking again. Once she got to her apartment, she turned off the lights, lay in her bed, and finally allowed her tears to flow.

She knew he didn't like her the way her like him. She knew he was going to reject her no matter how gently he put it, but still. It came out of his mouth and it hurt…more than the blast of lightning did.

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The next day was hard for Lucy to cooperate. Her mind kept replaying yesterday's confession/rejection. She tried not to think about it, but every time it replayed, her heart squeezed in pain.

Natsu didn't like her more than a friend, but she was still in love with the idiot.

"I feel like Juvia…" She muttered and rubbed her head to get the headache to disappear, but no such luck. "Ugh…I'm thinking too much."

She decided to sit down and write a letter to her mom and maybe even a few chapters of her novel. She was almost done with it. Maybe three, possibly four chapters then she was finished. If she was bored and didn't have anything else to do, then she'll probably get it done today.

The hours flew by quickly and Lucy ended up finished with her novel before she realized it. She shrugged, "I guess I shouldn't have doubted."

Lucy glanced a look at the clock: 3:30. Usually around noon Lucy would leave for the guild hall. If she decided not to go that day, Natsu and Happy would break into her house half an hour later to see why she decided to stay home.

However, neither Natsu or Happy showed up.

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Lucy's wounds were almost healed and she decided that she'd go to the guild hall. She planned on staying home for the next couple days (1: because of her wounds and 2: because of the confession/rejection), but since she finished her novel, she figured Levy would want her eyes glued to each page immediately.

When Lucy reached the guild hall doors, she froze.

Crap! What if Natsu was in there? Then they'd have an awkward moment! What if he told everyone that she told him she loved him? Then the teasing would never stop! Crap! What if-

" _No_ ," Lucy took a deep breath. She's gone up against dark guilds, demons, dragons, and many bandits on missions. Why would she cower from a bit of teasing? " _Just calm down and get your butt in there, Lucy!_ "

With a confident look on her face, Lucy opened the doors and walked in, expecting to hear a few snickers and stares. That wasn't what she got though; it was the usual. Mira waved and said "Hi Lucy!" and a few others waved and continued what they were doing. Lucy blinked in surprise. It was like every other welcome…

…except a certain dragon slayer didn't bounce up to her and tell her about a mission.

Lucy looked around. Actually, Natsu wasn't in here at all. She felt a little guilty. Did she scare him off or something?

Lucy brushed it off and walked up to Levy who had her face berried in some kinda mystery novel (judging the front cover). Lucy smiled at her and said, "Hey Levy!"

Levy popped her head up and smiled, "Hey Lucy! How's your wounds?"

"They're almost healed."

"That's good."

"Yeah, here, "She handed the her the stack of papers. "I finished my novel yesterday and-"

"You did?!" Levy exclaimed with her eyes twinkling in excitement as her grabbed it. "Yea! Have you sent it in yet?"

Lucy laughed as she handed the girl the stack of papers. "No. I wanted you to read it first."

"Thanks! Awesome title, by the way! What genre is this again?"

"Romance."

It took all of Lucy's willpower not to laugh and slap herself. What a coincidence!

"Yea!" Levy exclaimed again and immediately opening it, forgetting about her mystery novel.

Lucy shook her head in amusement and walked toward the bar. "Hi Mira!"

Mira smiled, "Hello Lucy! Are you feeling better?"

"Much." Lucy glanced around and asked. "Where's Natsu and Happy? I figured they'd be in here."

"I haven't seen Natsu since you had woken up. He told me he was going to your house and that was it. Happy is right over there though."

Lucy nodded, mainly to herself. So he hasn't come in since they talked? She decided to go ask Happy. If anybody knew where Natsu was, it was him.

"Happy!" Lucy said when she was close enough. "Do you know where Natsu is?"

"He's at his house." The blue exceed turned from his half-eaten fish and looked up at the blonde. "Why?"

"I was just wondering."

"He's been a little upset lately…actually, more like a little guilty…"

Lucy frowned. He's upset because he turned her down? He probably feels worse than she does. An idea suddenly popped up in her head and she smiled down at the exceed. "Do you wanna go on a mission?"

"Right now?"

"Yeah."  
"Um…sorry, I told Wendy and Carla I would go fishing with them later."

"Oh. That's okay. Natsu and I will go by ourselves."

Actually, that made her nervous. She was going on a mission by herself with just Natsu right after she confessed to him and he rejected her. They've been on missions alone before but…

Oh well! Has to be done! She'll just have to bear with it and hopefully he'll be able to too.

Lucy walked over the request board and scanned it. " _If I was Natsu, what job would I want?…_ " She squealed when she found the perfect one and grabbed it. Giving a wave to Mira to let her know that she'll be gone, she was out the door before anyone could question if she should go because of her wounds.

With every step she took towards Natsu's house, the more nervous she became. This was going to be _really_ awkward. He might not even accept the mission. Lucy glanced down at the mission in her hands. Never mind, he'll definitely accept.

When she reached his door, she took a couple deep breaths before knocking.

She heard a bit a movement, a loud thud, and a small "ow" from behind the door. Lucy bit her lip so she wouldn't laugh and quickly replayed the words she'd say to him in her head.

When the door opened, Lucy was playing with the edges of the flyer in her hand nervously.

"L-Lucy!" His eyes widened as Lucy tried not to get distracted by his bare chest. It seems like he just woke up.

"Hey," She started with a smile. "Um…how are you?"

"Uh…fine…and you?"

Lucy laughed at how awkward it got within seconds. "I'm fine. I uh…just wanted to say I'm sorry about a few days ago."

"You don't have to apologize for that."

"Yeah…but I didn't really think it through before I spoke…I understand that you don't feel the same way and I don't want what I said to ruin our friendship…so could we just forget about it and go back to the way we were before?"

She searched his eyes for any answers as he stared at her, but before she knew it, his trademark grin appeared and an "Of course!" hit her ears.

She sighed in relief and smiled. "Okay, for a second there I was getting worried!"

"Are you kidding me?! Why would I turn down a friend, especially an amazing one like you?!" He laughed.

Lucy laughed with him and blushed slightly at the compliment. "Sorry! I know!"

"What's that?" He pointed to the paper in her hands.

"Oh!" She almost forgot about that. She handed it to him. "Happy told me you weren't feeling well so I grabbed a job you might like."

Natsu burst out laughing again. "I get to _purposefully_ destroy a village?! Awesome! I'm in!"

Lucy raised her eyebrow and took back the paper. "Um, no, you don't get to destroy a village on purpose. You get to destroy a _bandit hideout_ on purpose. Where did you see 'village'?"

Natsu ignored her. "Let me my things real quick."

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 **Don't worry! I hate any sad, dissatisfying endings so it doesn't stop here. DON'T WORRY! I promise there will be nalu. I was just going to make this a short story, but it got so long I decided to change it to a two-shot. You're probably scowling at me right now, asking me why I made Natsu reject Lucy, but all my other stories were like "she loves him, but doesn't think he loves her, but then she confesses and finds out that he actually loves her back" and I wanted to take a different approach this time. Please don't kill me! *hides behind computer***

 **-zEllie**


	2. Burns

**It's been forever! I know most of you aren't happy with me because of the huge two (or three…I lost count) month wait, but I finally got a few ideas together thanks to my fan, ninasaoy. She gave me a few ideas so thank you ninasaoy! I owe you big time! I had major writers' block! I couldn't think up the second chapter! Also…HAVE YOU GUYS READ THE NEW MANGA CHAPTER?! GALE IS CANON! I'M SO HAPPY I COULD DIEEEEE! I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE! WAHIFDONANEDFAPFDEN! Sorry, fangirl alert! Lol!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail…sadly**

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Burns

The walk to the train station was rather awkward. Lucy tried to bring up a casual conversation, but nothing really came to mind. Natsu wasn't uncomfortable around her like she expected, but it was just so silent. The two of them just didn't really know what to talk about. Lucy was really upset with herself: she ended up confessing to him when she wasn't ready and now there's a dent in their relationship. Lucy knew Natsu would never stop being her best friend, but things were just slightly off now. And it was all thanks to Lucy being impatient. She could've found another way to get out of Natsu's questioning the other day! Why did she have to confess and ruin everything?!

Once they were on the train, things began to return to normal: Natsu immediately got motion sick and Lucy couldn't help, but giggle at his misery.

"L-Lucy…I-it's…not funny…Ugh!" His head fell on her lap and he covered his mouth to keep from throwing up.

Lucy went red when Natsu turned his head and pressed his face against her stomach. It wasn't like he was doing it out of affection because he, obviously, didn't see her that way. She tried to tell her heart to stop pounding so loudly, but it wouldn't oblige, making Lucy a little annoyed.

"H-hey!" She stuttered, still red in the face, "d-don't throw up on me!"

"I'll try…n-no promises…" Lucy put her hands on Natsu's arms to shove him off her, but before she could, be spoke again, "Wait! W-wait! I won't t-throw u-up on you! I-I promise…"

Lucy smirked, satisfied, "good."

A few moments of silence later, Lucy absent mindedly began to run her fingers through Natsu's hair, making him quietly purr. He would never admit it, but he liked the feeling of her soft fingers massaging his scalp. It made him feel better – _slightly_ better.

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The excitement of purposely destroying a bandit hideout faded when Natsu remembered what happened last time they were on a job. Lucy was severely wounded and even though she was better than before, was still hurt and healing. If Natsu hadn't been so absorbed in his thoughts lately, he probably would've declined, but it was too late for that now. Natsu was still, however, very cautious. While they were coming up on the building, their conversation went like this:

"Hey Lucy?"  
"Yeah?"

"I'm starting to think this was a bad idea."

"Huh? Why?" Lucy had thought that he would love it, purposely destroying a building. There would probably be a lot of fights as well. The bandits would definitely fight back.

"Well, because of your wounds."

"Oh, I'm fine, Natsu. I have plenty of Magic Energy to fight and I don't feel any pain."

"I know, but still…and I don't want you to jump in front of me again."

Lucy didn't reply and that caused Natsu to stop walking, grab her by the shoulders, and turn her around to look her dead in the eyes.

"Lucy, do _not_ jump in front of me again!" His voice was so stern and his eyes were serious.

"I'm not promising anything," Lucy muttered under her breath, but with Natsu's sensitive ears, he heard it loud and clear.

" _Lucy._ "

"Natsu, I'm not just going to watch you-"

" _I don't care!_ " Natsu's grip on her shoulders tightened. "I don't care if I die! If I do, that just means I protected you and I don't regret that!"

"But I don't want you to die!" Lucy replied. "I want you to live! I don't care what the circumstances are! And if there's something I can do to keep you from dying then I'll do it!"

"Lucy-"

"Did you hear that?" A voice said from not far away.

"Hear what?" Another voice replied.

"Arguing. It came from over there."

"I did hear arguing, but I thought it was coming from inside."

Natsu and Lucy stopping arguing and went to work.

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The fights were simple…except for these few bandits who happened to be wizards. (Bandits were wizards…who knew?) The fight wasn't very difficult, but it wasn't entirely easy either. Natsu was fighting this one Illusion Mage who kept flashing him images of himself causing Natsu to waste time trying to find the real one. That was the hard part.

Lucy's opponents were easier than his, but she was fighting two at once. So, that was the hard part for her. Natsu would look over every few seconds to see if she was doing alright. One of her opponents was almost knocked out so Natsu knew she'd be fine, but it didn't hurt to be cautious. Sometimes he would catch her looking over to him as well.

It was like she was looking to see if she _needed_ to jump in front of him again…

What Natsu wasn't careful on, was who was noticing. The Illusion Mage saw them glancing at each other and he knew that they had a thing. They cared for one another and were watching each other's backs.

And the Illusion Mage, could use that to his advantage…

Once he had Natsu wasting more time trying to figure out which illusion was the real deal, he took the time to dig through his head, searching for anything he could use. Then he found it; the _perfect_ one to use.

The Illusion Mage took away the fake images of himself and presented something he knew the fire dragons slayer would never want to see:

Future Lucy, lying on the ground in front of him, bleeding, and a shadow-like dagger stuck in her body…

It made Natsu stop in his tracks…

He couldn't hear anything, move, or breathe at all. The eyes were too focused on Lucy and the immense pain he had felt when he watched her die flooded into his body, leaving him feeling like nothing, but death.

"Natsu! Natsu! That's not me! It's an illusion!"

He hadn't known how long he was standing there, staring at Future Lucy's dead body, but Lucy – the Lucy _he_ knew – had just finished off her opponents and called out to him, waking him up like a siren. Illusions' weakness is awareness, like the love and sleep charm Bora had once used. The moment Natsu knew what he was looking at was an illusion, the image faded, giving him the opportunity to charge. His fire was burning hot with anger. How did this person know about Future Lucy? How did he know that she had died? He would pay!

With his battle cry, Natsu's fist met the Illusion Mage's face and fire burst out around him, earning a scream.

But it wasn't a scream Natsu had expected; he heard a feminine scream, not a masculine.

He didn't check to see if he knocked the guy out; his anger was gone in an instant as he turned around to confirm his fears. The scream came from Lucy and she was out cold – or should I say, out "hot".

Natsu's fire hit her.

He hit _Lucy_.

With a scream of her name, Natsu ran over to her and put the fire out on her before it did any worse.

Her clothes were nearly burned off and her hair was singed, but the second and third degree burns was what worried him most! They were terrible! It was just a blast of fire that hit her, it normally wouldn't have done much damage besides set her clothes and hair on fire and maybe give her a few first degree burns, but that wasn't just fire, it was _dragon_ fire…

…and Natsu had hit her with it.

"Lucy! Lucy! Wake up!"

He _desperately_ wanted her to wake up. If she didn't, he could only assume the worst. He couldn't check her pulse because of the burns and he didn't want to touch her because his abnormal body heat would only make it worse. He wanted her to wake up so she could slap him in the face for looking at her when her shirt was in shreds. The slap would hurt, but he deserved it and he would be reassured that she was still alive.

He thought back to when Future Lucy died. He had promised himself to protect her. " _I won't let anybody steal Lucy's future, not while I'm alive!_ " He had told Future Rogue, but the thought of _himself_ stealing Lucy's future was just…

Natsu hadn't realized he was crying, nor did he care. He just picked Lucy up, being careful about her burns and rushed her to the nearest hospital.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. a week later.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The good news was that Natsu hadn't killed Lucy. The bad news was that her burns were so bad that the doctors were giving her dope and checkups every few hours. They would come in and change her clothes so they could get to her burns easier. Lucy hadn't woken up though. The doctors assured Natsu over and over that she was alive and just sleeping, but to him, the beeping he heard next to him hour after hour didn't prove anything. Sometimes, he swore that he heard her take a deep breath, but he wanted her awake so he could see her beautiful chocolate brown eyes.

Natsu never once left her side. He would sit next to her holding her hand for days and willing her wake up. The doctors tried to get him to leave, but the last doctor who tried to force him ended up with a black eye, so they didn't bother (he turned his back when they were changing her clothes). He had a good, long while to clear his head, think, and cry.

He couldn't believe he almost killed her…and right after he was so stern about her jumping in front of him and risking her life!

Not only that, but what he was feeling was worse than anything he's ever left. It was even worse than her Future-self's death. That was probably because the comfort he got in that was that _his_ Lucy was still alive. Let's not take this the wrong way, it still _hurt_ watching her die, but her Present-self was still alive. It also hurt more because it was _himself_ that nearly killed her. Natsu didn't have to argue with himself about that.

The third thing he was thinking about was something else he felt toward her. Now this, Natsu had been getting bits and pieces of around her. Like when she confessed, his heartbeat increased a little and it seemed to pound painfully when he rejected her. He didn't know what it was, but now that she's lying here, nearly dead, he pain he felt before was nothing compared to now. Natsu was thinking, that maybe what he was feeling was the same thing Lucy felt toward him. Was her heart pounding when she was around him? Maybe he _did_ love her. Gosh, his friends are right: he _is_ an idiot!

Suddenly the doors burst open.

"Lucy! Lucy! Is she okay?!" That voice filled with nothing but panic belonged to none other than Erza.

Natsu had only raised his head slightly. He had it against the white sheets next to Lucy's hand that was in his.

"What the heck happened?!" Gray's voice.

"Natsu~!" That was undoubtedly Happy as he landed on the fire dragon slayer's shoulder. "Why does Lucy have burns on her?! What happened?!"

"I'll heal her!" Wendy said. "Mira, can you get that bucket of water over there? It'll help her burns."

"Of course."

"Natsu! What happened?!" Cana exclaimed.

When Natsu didn't answer, Gray grabbed his scarf, pulling him up. "Aren't you going to answer us, Flame Brain?! You and Lucy have been gone for a week! What the heck happened during that-"

Gray stopped suddenly and stared along with the others present; Erza, Happy, Wendy, Carla, Cana, and Mira. Natsu realized he was crying again.

"I…" He started, but his voice broke and he turned away as the tears continued to flow. He paused for a moment and Gray let go of his scarf to put a hand on his shoulder for support. Natsu never cried; it was so out of character for him. Seeing his rival/friend breaking like this was just wrong. With a squeeze from Gray, Natsu took a shaky breath and explained what had happened.

The room was deadly silent for a few moments before they started comforting him and telling him it wasn't his fault, but that wasn't true, it _was_ his fault. Accident or not, Natsu hurt and almost killed Lucy and none of them knew when she'd wake. Heck, she could go into a coma for all they knew! It was possible; she had bad enough burns for it to happen.

None of this made Natsu feel any better. He had gone over what had happened in his head millions of times and he tried to think of any ways he couldn't have hit her. Maybe if he wasn't so angry? That was the first thing he thought of. People would always tell him that his Magic Power would increase immensely when he was angry, but there was more than a few times when he was angry and fighting around Lucy and he hadn't hit her before. Then he thought about the angle: was it just the angle Lucy was at? Did she happen to be in the perfect spot where it could hit her? Natsu thought up countless of ways he could've gotten out of hurting Lucy, but no matter what, he would still, in his head, hit her…and he hated it…

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. Another week later.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Lucy was moved back to the guild hall in the infirmary where Natsu continued to be by her side. Porlyusica would come by every few days to give her some healing tonics. Mira would bring him food, but he would only eat very little. The guild members would take turns keeping Natsu company in there. They knew he would want to be alone sometimes, but they knew it was painful. To them too, not just Natsu, they had to mend their own hearts and pray for her to wake. Besides, they knew Natsu could use the company.

Wendy and Happy were the most frequent visitors. Happy, being the closest to Natsu along with Lucy, would sit there for hours alongside the dragon slayer and would try to talk up a conversation. He would try to cheer Natsu up even though he knew most of it would be in vain. He would talk about things Natsu liked. Sometimes, it would perk his interest, and other times, it wouldn't. Happy would leave when he was hungry, bored, or to go on a mission with few of the guild members to pay for rent: both Natsu and Lucy's rent.

Wendy would come in to heal Lucy's burns some more (and she was doing a fabulous job: they were faded, but still there…and she still hadn't woken) and would give Natsu comforting words. She would tell him that Lucy is fine and would wake up soon, but the days and hours would go by and Lucy would remain unconscious.

Other members in the guild would come and comfort him, but they would say the same thing: that she was getting better and will wake soon. None of this comforted Natsu though; he didn't want Lucy to wake up soon, he wanted her to wake up _now_! He wanted to tell her how sorry he was and to see her alive.

The only person who ever really comforted Natsu was Elfman:

"Natsu, listen, I know how you feel, I've been in your shoes before. When I almost killed Lisanna, I didn't want to ever use my magic again. I didn't know how to live with myself thinking that I killed my little sister, but something kept me going: Mira. She was still alive because I had protected her. She's what kept me going. I understand how you're feeling, and yes, it's your fault Lucy is like this, but you're the one who gets to decide if you quit or not. If you don't, what is it that keeps you going?"

Natsu would describe his words as "manly", but didn't say anything. For being one of his rivals, Elfman sure gave him something he could think about. Natsu will admit that he didn't want to use his magic again. It was kinda funny, one day, he couldn't think of a point in life without burning anything and now, he wish he never had it. He didn't want to quit being a wizard though; he wanted to keep going, but he didn't know what it was that was pushing him. His will?

Natsu was thinking about what Elfman said when Lucy started to stir.

She moved in her sleep and moaned a bit and he sat up a bit in surprise. She opened her eyes but immediately shut them because of the light.

Natsu could feel his heart speed up as scooted closer to her, "Lucy?"

Lucy turned toward him and blinked a few times before opening them fully, "Natsu?"

Natsu smiled for the first time in a while and set his head on her stomach, "thank goodness! You finally woke up! I was so worried!" He was being gentle and careful of her burns. Most of them were gone now, but there was still a few bad ones on her legs and faded ones on her arms.

"Natsu, what happen – oh my gosh! My hair!"

Natsu didn't look up, but her hair was nearly burnt off. It was Lisanna's length, but with major split ends and lopsided. It wasn't that big of a deal though because she had Cancer who could grow it back to its original length.

"Natsu! What the heck happened?!"

Natsu hadn't answered because he was too busy preparing himself for explaining. He could feel a bit of tears prick at his eyes. "Lucy…I'm so sorry."

"What? You're sorry? For what?"

"I hit you…with my fire."

"You burned me? How? When was this? And I seem fine, except my hair. What-"

"Lucy, I almost killed you."

Lucy didn't reply.

"I'm so sorry."

Lucy sat up in her bed as Natsu explained everything that had happened. He was in tears by the time he was finished speaking and Lucy just stayed silent until the end. She then smiled softly, took Natsu's head into her hands, and set it on her shoulder.

"How could you forgive me so easily?" Natsu asked as he hugged her tightly.

"You've been my best friend for years now. How could I not?"

"But I almost-"

"I don't care. Natsu, you're the best friend I've ever had. Losing you would be death for me."

Natsu felt his heart speed up.

"How long have I been out?"

Natsu sniffed and lifted his head. He sat next to her and looked out the window, "two weeks."

"Woah! That's longer than I thought!" Lucy paused for a moment before drawing Natsu's attention back to her by tapping his shoulder. She wiped his leftover tears away before saying, "please stop crying. It doesn't suit you. Being a clueless idiot is more your style."

Natsu sent her a glare, but laughed along with her, "I've been crying for two weeks. I was really worried."

"I'm sorry for worrying you."

"I'm sorry for hitting you."

"Natsu, really, it's okay," Lucy smiled.

Natsu looked away as they fell into an awkward silence. He was debating whether or not to tell her he loved her. He had thought about it some more the past few days and decided that he did love her. He was sure that's what it was since he hasn't felt anything, but death the past two weeks and he'd feel weird around her. He didn't have to worry about being rejected because he knew she loved him too, but still, he had never told a girl he loved her; he was nervous. When Natsu opened his mouth, Lucy spoke first:

"Natsu?"  
He shut his mouth and turned to her, "yeah?"

"It's not your fault you hit me; it's my own."

He blinked twice, mind totally blank. "Huh?"

"When you were running toward the Illusion Mage, I was running toward you. I knew, in your anger, you'd go overboard and quite possibly bring the roof down on us. So, I was going to stop you. I saw the fire coming, but I didn't have time to react besides shielding my face."

Natsu blinked again as he processed everything he just heard. It wasn't his fault? Lucy would be safe if she wasn't running toward him? So, a month ago, she jumped in front of him and nearly died to protect him and two weeks later, she runs towards him to stop him from going overboard and nearly dies a second time.

Natsu turned away, his face going hard. "How were you planning to stop me? By jumping in front of me?"

His voice was harsher than intended, causing Lucy to flinch. She knew he'd be angry, but it was better to tell him the truth than for him to feel guilty the rest of his life. "No," she replied, "I was just going to hug you from behind. I wasn't expecting the fire to-"

"Lucy!" Natsu spun around, balled up what was left of her charred hair into his fists, and leaned in close enough to feel her breath against his face. The gesture may have been a little sweet, but his eyes were hard. "What the heck are you thinking?! First, I watch your future-self die, then you jump in front of me and nearly get yourself killed, and then you get in range of my fire just to _stop me from attacking?!_ " He shook her head back and forth. "Stop being so dang reckless! It's scaring me half to death! My heart can't take much more! There's room for only one reckless person between us and that role goes to me!"

"S-s-stop s-shaking m-m-me! A-a-and what d-do you m-mean by 'us'?"

Then he smashed his lips against hers.

Lucy's eyes widened as she gasped, allowing Natsu to deepen the kiss. Without another second, she pressed back with equal force earning a small grin from him. He had her pressed against the back of the bed while their tongues danced and took turns gently nipping at each other's bottom lip earning quiet moans from one another. Natsu's lips were nothing like Lucy had imagined them to be: they were so soft! She had thought they'd be rough. They were very warm as well (Well, she knew they'd be warm, but she thought warm as in fire, but nope. They were just warm.), which she couldn't get enough of. Natsu knew he found what was keeping him going: Lucy. He would protect her no matter what. He knew had had already promised that, but it felt better to make it clear to himself. tthe two were forced to pull back due of lack of oxygen.

"N-Natsu?" Lucy looked at him as they caught their breath. She had so many questions. He didn't love her; he said so himself, so, why did he kiss her?

"Lucy," he spoke when he had breath, "I've had a lot of time to think and I've realized that I don't know what I'd do without you. You're right: I'm a clueless idiot and I'm sorry it took me a while to realize how much I love you."

Lucy squealed before flinging her arms around his head and pressing their lips together again. Natsu would've obliged, but he wasn't done speaking so he pulled back, earning a pout from Lucy.

"I'm serious, Lucy," he set his forehead against hers, "I hate seeing you burn; stop being so reckless. I can't take much more of it; promise me you'll stop."

Lucy looked up into his eyes, "…on one condition."

"What?"

She smiled, "you have to protect me."

Natsu smiled back, "don't I always?"

Lucy smiled wider and said "yeah, you do," before pecking him on the lips again.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

… **.it's…finally…over…LETS HAVE A PARTY! COME TO MY PLACE! I feel a burden lifted off me right now. Phew! I hope this wasn't too bad. It wasn't how I intended it to be when I first started writing it, but it turned out better than I thought. Just in case you're curious, yes, I changed the title from "Blood" to "Blood and Burns" because it fit the second chapter better. Also, NaLu week is coming up and I wanna start writing up the oneshots so I can post them in time instead of late (I know it's in two months, but that gives me more time). So, because of that, "Ravens and Fairies, Dragons and Princesses" chapters will come a little later than usual. Though, there's not really a due date, but whatever! That was just to let you guys know! Thank you reading and so sorry again for the long wait, but it's up now.**

 **-zEllie**


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